March, which will arrive like a lion in a matter of a few short weeks, is generally the time to start thinking about lining up your CSA share. The numbers of CSAs, or Community Supported Agriculture groups — you pay a farmer upfront to give them funds for seeding, starting, growing, hiring, planning and planting in exchange for weekly deliveries of produce — have been growing by leaps and bounds over the past decade, with the non-profit Just Food keeping tabs on many of them. In the past few years, we’re happy to report, traditional veg, egg and fruit farm-driven CSAs have been joined by meat CSAs like The Piggery, and even by local community gardens with great yields, city rooftop farms like Eagle Street Rooftop Farm, Brooklyn Grange and even citizen farming brigades like BK Farmyards, who offer an all-egg CSA from chickens kept in Brooklyn coops. Many have also expanded to include pickles and bread and cheese, granola and meats and all kinds of other goods brought down from nearby farmers, as well as winter shares to bring in things that are available over the colder months. You’ll learn all this, meet farmers and more, no doubt, at the 11th annual CSA conference Just Food is hosting on Saturday March 5th at the Food and Finance High School on W. 50th Street. More details right here.
